Everybody knows lacrosse is America’s oldest sport, but did you know Native American contests included anywhere from 100 to 100,000 players at any one time? Throughout the game’s storied history, there are loads of interesting lacrosse facts worth learning.
The Native American Game
The first lacrosse goals could be anywhere from 500 yards to several miles apart. Today, the dimensions of a regulation lacrosse field are locked at 110 yards by 60 yards.
How the Game has Grown
- In 2016, lacrosse participation in the United States rose above 825,000, a new record.
- There are now nearly 60,000 youth players in New York.
The Olympics
Lacrosse was contested at the Summer Olympic Games in 1904 and 1908, but has not returned since.
Professional Lacrosse Facts
In Major League Lacrosse, more than 200 athletes compete on nine teams, including squads in Florida, Atlanta, Denver and New York. They play 63 regular season games every year.
Individual Records
- Lizards’ attackman Rob Pannell holds the MLL single season scoring record. He scored 74 points in 14 games in 2016.
High School
The Woodstick Classic — an annual game between Garden City and Manhasset high schools — is the oldest uninterrupted public school lacrosse rivalry in the nation. It began in 1935.
Individual Records
- Cole Smith, of East Lansing, Michigan, once scored 18 goals in a single high school lacrosse game, the most ever by any player ever.
- In his career, Herricks High School’s Charlie Cipriano saved 1,366 shots, more than any goalie in high school lacrosse history.
Team Lacrosse Facts
West Genesee’s 15 state championships is the most any high school in New York has ever won. Ward Melville sits in second with eight titles.
College
Today, there are more than 360 college men’s lacrosse programs, a jump of nearly 30 percent in the last five years.
Individual Records
Jon Reese of Yale held the NCAA single season goal-scoring record for 24 years until Myles Thompson tied him with 82 goals in 2014.
Team Lacrosse Facts
- Maryland, the winner of the 2017 NCAA Final Four, suffered through 42 years and nine championship losses before beating Ohio State in 2017.
- Syracuse University’s 10 titles is the most by any one school.
Do you know any lacrosse facts you think should have made this list?
